Parents and Schools: The 150-Year Struggle for Control in American Education

Rating:
Summary: makes an important point
Review: There is no issue of more importance to more Americans than the state of education, where it is going, and how it might be redirected. Obviously, historical perspective is one part of our grapplings with that issue.

Unfortunately, this book has a very narrow scope. The author usually uses the word "school" to mean "public school," so he has very little to say about private or parochial education, or the home-schooling movement.

Still, he makes an important point. The public school establishment, administrators and teachers alike, constitutes in many ways a distinct social class, with its own view of the world, and a view that is at odds with the views of many parents. Thus, conflicts between parents and teachers, even on some seemingly trivial points (how much homework? what kind of Christmas decorations should be allowed) is necessarily a political struggle.

The public-schooling establishment sees itself as the bearer of some high altruistic apolitical virtue. But that attitude is just one political fact among others.

Rating:
Summary: Bravo! An excellent examination of an important subject.
Review: This book is extremely well-researched and well-written. It is of particular importance today with the public schools being attacked from every angle. By looking at today's issues with the historical perspective presented by Dr. Cutler, one gains deep insights into the purpose of public schools and their importance in American society. Dr. Cutler's ability to take a vast amount of research and to present it in a very readable format is a credit to his writing skills and scholarship. It should be read by all teachers, administrators and anyone researching issues in public education.